Let’s talk about the blind spot
in even the best financial plans
With a Master’s in Positive Psychology and lived experience as a sudden wealth recipient and future inheritor, I help advisors, planners, and financial firms navigate the emotional side of money so they can better support their clients to do what’s best for them in the moments that matter most.
Whether I’m speaking on stage or leading workshops, my mission is simple: to bring humanity back to finance because spreadsheets only take you so far without client buy-in.
Hi, I’m Marin Laukka, a speaker, financial coach, creator of the Joyful Budgeting™ method, and author of Ready Enough: Your 7-Step Guide for Life's Hardest Decisions.
MARIN LAUKKA
Speaker and Educator
for Financial Professionals
in the Midwest and Beyond
About Marin Laukka
Two months before my wedding, my house burned down. And just like that, I wasn’t just grieving the life I’d built, I was holding a $700,000 insurance payout with no idea what to do with it.
That moment changed everything. I was navigating identity loss, decision fatigue, and emotional overload with sudden money stuck in the middle of it all.
And when I turned to financial professionals for help, no one knew how to talk about that part (or even that there was a part to talk about). They gave me advice about what to do with the money, but no one acknowledged how overwhelmed I felt holding it. The psychological and emotional stress wasn’t even part of the conversation.
So I didn’t take their advice. I didn’t trust them. And I had to figure it out on my own.
That’s when I realized: it’s not just me. It’s happening to your clients, too. They’re carrying emotional weight that doesn’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet, and they may not even have the language for what’s wrong.
You can feel their resistance. They can feel their hesitation. But no one knows what’s really going on, let alone how to move forward.
That’s where my work comes in.
I’ve lived this from both sides. And now, I help financial professionals build trust, hold space, and guide clients through the moments that matter most with clarity, emotional intelligence, and a human-first approach no AI could ever replicate.
This Wasn’t Supposed to Be My Story
+ You’ve built smart, values-aligned financial plans only to watch clients stall, disappear, or sabotage their own progress.
+ You sense that fear, grief, guilt, or family dynamics are hijacking the logic, but you weren’t trained to talk about it.
+ You care deeply about helping your clients, but you’re working in a system built on the assumption that spreadsheets solve everything (who doesn’t love a good spreadsheet?!), even when you can feel something deeper is getting in the way.
Money has changed your clients’ lives (and maybe even your own), in ways no plan could’ve predicted. And even with the best financial strategy, something important can get lost, miscommunicated, unspoken, or avoided altogether.
What I Know About You as the Financial Pro Sitting Across the Table…
- You believe money is emotional, not just mathematical, and you know your clients need more than logic to follow through.
- You’re ready to confidently navigate emotionally charged conversations when clients need it, without feeling drained or dragged into therapist territory.
- You’re looking for financial education that’s practical, psychology-based, and client-centered.
- You care about values, not just net worth, and want your advice to reflect the full human picture.
- You’re tired of surface-level trainings and desire information that will help you change how people show up with their money.
That’s why I teach you how to integrate emotional intelligence into financial strategy
To help your clients feel safe, seen, and supported, so they actually follow through on the plans you’ve worked so hard to build.
You’re In the Right Place If
"Marin's coaching gave me a sense of clarity and control, helping me feel more grounded and intentional about my choices. I can now prioritize what truly matters to me"
The Conversations Your Clients Need Aren’t Just About Money
And You’re Not Alone In Wondering How to Help
As you support clients through moments of sudden wealth, you’ve probably realized that money isn’t just numbers. It’s identity, legacy, emotion, and purpose - all tangled together.
Years ago, I learned I might receive a significant inheritance someday, and I completely unraveled. I didn’t have the tools to process the guilt, anxiety, and identity confusion that it brought up. Not long after, I received a financial windfall wrapped in grief, and that’s when it all clicked.
Even when the money looks like a “blessing” on paper, it can feel overwhelming, disorienting, and heavy.
These experiences planted the seed for everything I now teach and practice. It also revealed the deeper truth that our industry isn’t equipped to hold the emotional complexity clients bring to the office.
This is why I merged my background in psychology and finance with lived experience to develop strategies that help financial professionals and firms guide clients through real-life money moments with clarity, empathy, and confidence.
Because when we acknowledge the full picture, we can finally build financial plans that make a holistic impact.
What Your Clients Are Carrying:
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SPEAKING
Whether you’re planning a keynote for your next event, developing your team’s behavioral finance skills, or want to offer client-facing education with real impact, here’s how I help.
Where My Work Comes In
